Marijuana Once Again Shown to Harm Unborn Children

Marijuana

Marijuana use during pregnancy has once again been shown to hurt unborn children.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University published a study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics this week analyzing data on marijuana use during pregnancy from 2021 through 2024.

Researchers determined that marijuana is associated with babies suffering from low birthweight, being small for their gestational age, being born prematurely, and even dying during pregnancy or shortly after birth.

Unfortunately, marijuana has been found time and time again to be harmful to unborn children.

A 2022 study published in JAMA Pediatrics showed children and adolescents face an increased risk of mental disorder if their mothers used marijuana during pregnancy.

A 2023 study published in the journal Frontiers In Pediatrics found marijuana use during pregnancy could decrease a newborn’s birthweight by approximately one-third of a pound.

The study also found newborns exposed to marijuana in utero suffered from smaller head circumference — which could indicate inadequate brain development during pregnancy.

And a 2024 study found women who used marijuana during pregnancy faced 631% greater risk of fetal death.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Arkansas Attorney General Rejects Ballot Title for Failing to Comply with New Readability Law

Legislation,

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office rejected a proposed ballot measure on Monday for failing a new readability standard the state legislature recently implemented.

We have written repeatedly about how Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be. Instead of giving everyday people a way to enact their own laws, special interests have hired people to circulate petitions to place misleading, deceptive, and poorly written measures on the ballot in Arkansas.

Act 602 of 2025 by Rep. Ryan Rose (R — Van Buren) and Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) helps address this problem by requiring ballot initiative titles to be written at or below an eighth grade reading level.

The Arkansas Legislature passed Act 602 earlier this year, and the law took effect as soon as Gov. Sanders signed it on April 14.

A ballot title is supposed to accurately summarize a measure so voters can decide if they support or oppose it. Act 602 requires these summaries to be written at or below an eighth grade level, according to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula, which is a common readability standard the U.S. military and other institutions use.

Act 602 is similar to legislation enacted in other states to help make sure ballot titles are easy for voters to read and understand. It is a good law that will help address deceptive or misleading ballot initiatives in Arkansas.

On Monday, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin rejected the ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment, because the summary did not comply with Act 602.

The amendment would effectively prevent the legislature from regulating the initiative process. The measure’s ballot title — or summary — was several hundred words long, and it was written above a twelfth grade reading level.

It’s good to see Act 602 working to make sure ballot measure summaries are easy for voters to read and understand, and we appreciate Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office properly enforcing this good law.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE